Twitter Has Thoughts After Matty Healy’s Kiss With The 1975 Bassist In Protest Of Malaysia's Anti-LGBT Laws Gets Music Festival Canceled!
23.07.2023 - 17:05
/ perezhilton.com
Concertgoers in Malaysia have a lot of thoughts about Matty Healy right now!
ICYMI, the 34-year-old singer and his band The 1975 were playing at the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia on Friday. However, their set ended early when Matty revealed he almost canceled the show due to the country’s anti-LGBT laws. He said at the time:
Related: Matty Says He Got It ‘Wrong’ While Addressing Controversial Remarks
Although the controversial artist dropped out of the show on Thursday, he decided to get on stage anyway. Following his speech, he walked over to bassist Ross MacDonald and kissed him to protest the strict anti-LGBT laws. Good on him for standing up for the LGBTQ+ community! However, it wasn’t long after that the band left the stage since they were banned from Kuala Lumpur.
And unfortunately, the rest of the performers booked for the event were not able to take the stage following The 1975’s set. Because the government canceled the festival in response to Matty and Ross’ liplock! Good Vibes Festival issued a statement on Saturday, saying:
Although you’d think Matty would receive a ton of praise, that hasn’t been the case. He’s actually faced a ton of criticism on social media! Many have called him out for doing nothing more than a performative stunt and potentially making things “worse” for the queer community in Malaysia, writing on Twitter:
Other social media users pointed out how his actions will potentially make it harder for concertgoers in Malaysia to see shows moving forward:
It wasn’t all hate directed toward Matty. There were some folks who praised and defended him – noting that it’s the fault of the “homophobic government” that the festival was concealed:
So what does Matty have to say about this situation?